New operator to spice up Marin Civic Center cafe

A new catering firm intends to spice up affairs at the Marin Civic Center cafeteria with a few "fun things" when it takes over in June.

County supervisors this week approved a deal handing the concession to Epicurean Group of Los Altos, and bid farewell to Ray's Catering, which had served the county since 2002.

Epicurean Group, which for the past three years has served as in-house caterer for Marin Center, will get a monthly county subsidy of $2,500. Ray's Catering, which had been getting $2,800 monthly to make ends meet, wanted $4,000.

Supervisors acted after a staff review of food and nutrition, experience, financial capability, pricing, cost to the county, service and sustainability programs offered by several bidders.

An Epicurean executive told supervisors that the company intends to bring "the very best" to the Civic Center, including several new wrinkles — such as the ability to pay with credit cards. Ray's Catering staffers will be among those interviewed for cafe jobs. The owner promised a few "fun things," but did not elaborate.

Epicurean pays for 80 percent of its employees' medical premiums, gets the majority of its food from Bay Area sources, and works with agencies including Marin Organic, Green Sangha and the Agricultural Institute of Marin.

The company has 400 employees working at 30 cafes and cafeteria sites in Northern California, including Stanford University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Holy Names University.

The new agreement includes county "living wage" provisions, a 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. operating schedule, use of biodegradable or compostable products for take-out, and sourcing local food products through farmers market programs.

The cafeteria will be closed from May 18 to June 2 for repair and a thorough cleaning, and Epicurean will be on tap June 3.